AlterNet
Two years ago, voters at the Bawcomville, Louisiana “Redneck Christmas Parade” were hopeful about then-candidate Donald Trump campaigning to lower prices and fix the economy. CNN sent reporter Elle Reeve back to the town for an update on attitudes and got a mix of reactions.
“To me, the tariffs that Trump started, I think is a joke,” said parade participant Tommy Wiltcher, joining a parade of four-wheelers adorned with rebel flags. “The American people are paying for it.”
Reeves also said he did not approve of “the big ballroom up there and wanting to inlay it with all the gold fixtures,” and admits Trump lied about promising to bring prices down, saying “politicians promise the world when they want to get elected.”
Nevertheless, Wiltcher said he still supports Trump.
Parade reveler David Salvent said he also continues to support Trump, despite him falling short on multiple issues.
“I'm not the biggest fan, but at least it's not Biden,” said Salvent. “I was just hoping for a little bit more personally, especially with like all the stuff happening with Epstein files and all that. That's got me really nervous as well … I really want it to come out. I mean, if he was there, I feel like we deserve to know that, especially if we don't want him in there. I mean, what Epstein did was horrible. That's really bad.”
Participant Theresa DelRio said it was “still too early” to judge Trump’s work on the economy, but she was nervous about Trump’s violent crackdown on immigration.
“I was watching the news last night, down in New Orleans, where the border control was active. And some of the things I didn't I was not comfortable with at all,” DelRio said. “… [T]hey fight hard for border control because the drug issue and things like that. But then I see some people that just seem so innocent. There was one particular girl who was born and raised here. And they chased her down the street into her house. That really upset me. They're citizens here that are being chased. And with the last name of DelRio, you know? Yeah. I don't want anybody chasing me down the road.”
Still, DelRio said she gives Trump a “seven” on a scale of one-to-10.
Other participants, like senior citizen Sandra LaCourse said she loves “the whole package.”
“He opened up Christianity again,” LaCourse told Reeve. “Things were just … being not as free to be a Christian.”
When asked, LaCourse called Trump’s deportation policy “harsh, but needed.”
“There was some of the people who've been deported, weren't criminals. … Do you feel like that reflected Christian values?” asked Reeve.
“Yes. It's a lot of prayer going on that he seeks wisdom and he tries.”
Parade participants like Scotty Adams cheered Trump's policies despite high grocery prices.
"We have some of the cheapest gas right now with the gas prices coming down lower, it should transfer over to food prices and other items eventually," Adams predicted. "I'm loving it."
Watch the segment below:
- YouTube youtu.be
The Babylon Bee
CNN